Articles written by Dr. Sazawal are catalogued under following groupings:

1. Articles published by the Outlook (New Delhi) and other journals

Can Kashmiri Muslims living in the valley handle the truth? That is the challenge faced today by Kashmiri intellectuals, media and civil society who are keen on “levelizing” the human suffering and tragedy that has befallen Kashmir. While there is no question that the tragedy has affected all sections of the society, there should be absolutely no question that a peaceful minority of Kashmiri Pandits have fared the worst. Kashmiri Pandits, aborigines of Kashmir, were terrorized and forced to flee from Kashmiri in 1989-1990 because they were condemned as infidels and yet the majority community in the valley maintains its scrupulous state of denial about its communal culture that continues to resist the return of Pandits today. (This article was subsequently published in Kashmir Ink, Greater Kashmir)

The Author was invited to give a lecture in the Palace of Westminster (British Parliament) on September 11, 2013 at a 3-hour meeting chaired by the Rt. Hon’ble Marcus Jones, a Tory MP and a close associate of the British Prime Minister David Cameron, who is a member of the British Parliamentary Committee (BPC) on Kashmir. The Rt. Hon’ble Andrew Griffiths, who is the Chairperson of the BPC also participated briefly. According to the author, the Kashmir issue has evolved. It has no bearing to the dispute that was brought to the attention of the United Nations. It needs a solution in today’s context.

The official U.S. views regarding the Kashmir dispute have remained unchanged for decades. Nevertheless separatists, some media outlets, and other related constituencies in the Kashmir valley continually re-interpret the U.S. position on the issue with pronouncements that are based on wild imagination rather than cold reality.

The slow erosion of plurality, secularism and shrinking political and economic space for the disfranchised has created the situation that exists in Pakistan today. Kashmir seems to be slowly but surely headed the same way.

The “Shopian Incident” involving deaths of two young women in Shopian is very serious and very tragic. Unfortunately, actions by police, doctors and family members following the mysterious deaths have only deepened the mystery. Last, but not the least, political operatives managing public sentiment have compounded the problem further with unsubstantiated charges. Justice can not be served until the truth is known, but public and media seem to have made up their minds. The author conducts a thorough investigation of known facts to date.

If General Musharraf’s model is Northern Areas or even ‘Azad Jammu & Kashmir’, he ought to first check with Pakistan’s own Supreme Court to learn the lack of self-governance in those regions of Kashmir.

The Mirwaiz had publicly sought the return of the Pandits to the valley. But “meet and greet” functions do not a political dialogue make. The road map and benefits of such a dialogue need to be defined properly.

Today, the role of mujahideen in propping up a miniscule separatist movement in J&K is acknowledged even by those who were its organisers but, sadly, ten years later I wonder if we will ever learn from history

The shift to a people-centric approach from the real estate aspect of the problem is welcome indeed, and since all politics is local, it is high time to shift the focus from macro to micro issues. The majority community in J&K, not merely the governments, bears the burden of addressing the issue of Kashmiri Pandits and other minorities.

General Musharraf is smart. No one disputes that. But how long can he survive in a turbulent land called Pakistan where everyone from the military to mujahideen (armies of Allah) say one thing and do another? A snapshot of the “defender of the supreme national interest” following two unsuccessful assassination attempts on his life.

…of a very special people who want one set rules for themselves and a different set of rules for others. Kashmiri women be damned. They have suffered in silence in the past and they will continue to suffer in the future.

India simply does not have the streak of irrationality and brute mentality necessary to become a great power in historical terms. What Indians are capable of is gathering “sympathy cards” from other great powers.

2. Articles addressing inter-Community dialogue on the presumption that all politics is local

The publicity machine of the Chief Minister hailed the meeting that Mr. Omar Abdullah held with a group of Kashmiri Pandits on 18th September 2012 in Srinagar, describing the meeting in glowing terms and re-affirming Mr. Abdullah’s pledge that the “Government will do whatever possible for their return and rehabilitation.” An English daily in Srinagar, in an editorial on 20th September, noted that J&K Government efforts so far have amounted to “mere lip service.” The 18th September meeting was actually a disaster. Here is why.

When a prominent pro-separatist newspaper in Srinagar issued a statement under the heading Introspect on 15th July, it merely confirmed a growing concern among Kashmiris that the valley is headed towards anarchy. Without clear goals for incessant protests and strikes, the opposition leaders (from Islamist-separatist groups to pro-India parties out of power) are steering the valley to economic ruin without securing any tangible results in return. At the same time, a weak ruling coalition government is unable to control the law and order situation and instead conveys confusing messages intended to obfuscate the seriousness of the ground situation in the valley. If it sounds a bit like the situation in Pakistan, it actually is.

Civil society plays a critical role in nation building and human development. Local societal issues in Kashmir, unrelated to regional politics, cannot not be subsumed or ignored until the Kashmir problem is resolved. The civil society in Kashmir faces a challenge in reorienting its agenda to address a wide spectrum of local issues and thereby enhance its appeal and relevance to various sections of the society.

Invited paper submitted for inclusion in Professor Fida M. Hassnain’s upcoming book on Kashmiriyat. The author provides a historical perspective of crucial events that have shaped Kashmir’s unique identity which is under a severe strain today.

Unlike the sustained uprising in Kashmir in 1990 which was mostly orchestrated by Pakistani trained operatives, the uprising in the summer of 2008 was mostly indigenous, spontaneous and massive. Yet it began and died after ten days of bloody upheaval under rather strange circumstances. What prevented the latest insurgency from becoming a “perfect storm?” The author conducts a post-mortem of the uprising.

Presentation at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution during the conference entitled “The Role of the International Community In Resolving the Kashmir Dispute”, George Mason University, Virginia, USA.

Text of speech delivered at the International Kashmir Peace Conference entitled “Peace Initiative in South Asia: Exploring Possible Options for Kashmir”, organized by the Kashmiri American Council, (KAC) held in New York City on February 24-25, 2005.

Kashmiri youth face many challenges today. Apart from traditional challenges faced by the younger generation in any society, Kashmiri youth have to bear the undue burden of growing in a culture of violence and fractured civil order. Even more debilitating is the euphoria in the civil society for role models who have done nothing to merit recognition other than create mayhem and disorder. In effect, parenting has taken on a whole new meaning in today’s Kashmir.

The author was approached by certain Kashmiri Muslim participants attending the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session in Geneva on April 8, 2004 seeking his views regarding the return of displaced Kashmiri Pandits for publication in an English periodical published in Srinagar. The following is an abbreviated version of the paper provided to the publisher.

A letter sent to the U.S. government officials in the National Security Council (NSC) and the State Department following interactions with Kashmiri Muslims in Geneva and a meeting with a senior Pakistani official in Washington, DC. The letter identifies key human rights and political issues on both sides of the divided Jammu and Kashmir, and proposes concurrent inter-comunity dialogue on both sides with specific goals to establish consensus positions for future negotiations with India and Pakistan.

The feedback from the U.S. government to the author’s proposal for a “Symmetrical Inter-constituent Dialogue” (as noted in the earlier article), resulted in an interesting exchange with a world famous peace and conflict resolution think tank called, “International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO)” based in Norway. The director of PRIO found author’s proposal for a political dialogue worthy of follow-up but indicated a need for budgetary support to initiate such a dialogue.

On June 20. 1994 Dr. Farooq Abdullah, the erstwhile chief minister of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. and I were invited by the Jammu & Kashmir Peace Committee to speak at a function held in the British Parliament with Sir Gerard Vaughan, MP presiding.

The following written Statement was submitted to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) for review and discussion ahead of the 61st session of the Commission in April 2005. The designated document number is E/CN.4/2005/NGO/134 dated March 3, 2005.

Presentation at a meeting organized by the Interfaith International on the sidelines of the ninth session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council in Geneva.

4. Speeches in the U.S. Congress, the British Parliament and at various South Asia Policy think tanks

Speech delivered at the National Advisory Council on South Asian Affairs (NACSAA) event at the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC. The meeting consisted of South Asian born policy experts, Washington Think Tanks, and U.S. State Department officials.

The Brookings Institution Press has just published Ambassador Howard Schaffer’s valuable treatise on historical American engagement on the Kashmir dispute. Ambassador Schaffer held numerous meetings with the author while the book was being written, and discussed various aspects of the issue involving Kashmiri Pandits. The release of the book provided an opportunity to the Brookings South Asia Program to host Ambassador Schaffer and a select group of South Asia policy experts for an informal discussion to explore options, if any, for a fresh American approach to resolving the dispute. To check the attendee list, as well as Ambassador Schaffer’s personal remarks about the author, please click here.

There was an unanimous view among attendees that direct U.S. involvement was neither needed nor necessary. Both India and Pakistan are, in fact, in the process of reconnecting on both Track-I and Track-II levels, but the key question remains whether or not Pakistan is willing to dismantle its terror infrastructure geared towards India in general, and Kashmir in particular. Various possible incentives to encourage Pakistan to shift its military priorities from Kashmir-centric focus to its western border and tackle its internal strife were also discussed.

The maiden speech and participation by U.S. based Pandit activists in an event organized by the U.S. Congress on the Capitol Hill. Both the Indo-American Kashmir Forum (IAKF) and the U.S.organization that represents Kashmiri separatists were invited to testify. Official records indicated that Kashimiri separatists had hired a prominent Washington lobbying firm named Black, Manafort and Kelly to assist in their campaign at a cost of $500,000 per 6 months (payable in advance), whereas IAKF directors were professionals with regular jobs and no lobbying experience.

IAKF testimony included a letter from the President of the All India Kashmiri Samaj (AIKS) to the United Nation’s General Secretary, Dr. Boutros Ghali, dated April 23, 1992. We also provided a list of the first 100 Pandits martyred in Kashmir from 1988 to April 1990.

Prepared testimony for the Hearings on Religious Freedom in India and Pakistan, held by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), www.uscirf.gov, a bipartisan government body composed of twelve appointed commissioners who file reports with the U.S. government on issues pertaining to international religious freedom around the world.

Speech delivered at the National Advisory Council on South Asian Affairs (NACSAA) event at the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC. The meeting consisted of South Asian born policy experts, Washington Think Tanks, and U.S. State Department officials

Remarks delivered at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at The Johns Hopkins University, as summarized by the Henry L. Stimson Center, the only Washington D.C. think tank with an active program for Confidence Building Measures in South Asia.

5. Speeches and Presentations to Kashmiri Pandit Audiences

The attached analysis is based on the raw census data collected by the Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti (KPSS), a valley based group, and subsequently investigated by the author. It has been provided to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and to the Group of Interlocutors for Jammu & Kashmir in New Delhi on 23 March 2011.

There is always politics in the air where the State of Jammu and Kashmir (Kashmir for short) is concerned. But certain recent events have put a new spin on the old game of what is brewing next in Kashmir. This article appears in the April 2008 issue of the “Shehjar”, the on-line journal published by the community.

The “Vision Statement” emanating from a Roundtable discussion on preserving Kashmiri Pandit (KP) identity in the Kashmir valley. The meeting was organized by activists from KP community of Northern California to which the author was invited. The meeting took place in the San Jose Hindu Temple on February 10, 2008.

Kashmiri Pandits being recognized as Internally Displaced by various agencies of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) was relatively easy. Creating political sophistication in Pandits to take advantage of such recognition is however an entirely different matter. The following commentary published in the Daily Excelsior, a major daily newspaper in J&K, decribes the first visit by a UNHRC representative to Pandit refugee camps in 1998.

The year is 1492. King Ferdinand of Spain has given the Jews of Spain a choice – either convert to christianity or leave the country. Some 200,000 Jews flee for their lives. Half a world away, in Kashmir, the Kashmiri Pandits (KPs) are faring no better. Update of the essay originally written in 1993.

At the request of the original core team heading the Panun Kashmir organization in Jammu (J&K), the author prepared a 1-page strategy document for an executive discussion in May 1993. While some elements of the strategy were eventually implemented, most were not as the core team split up and various factions pursued obfuscating goals. The author, who served as the first overseas coordinator of Panun Kashmir, resigned from the organization in 1996. The document was a template for creation of a political entity that remains the unrealized dream of Kashmiri Pandits even now.

This article describes sweeping changes taking place around the world as a result of the demise of the soviet empire and the emergence of radical Islam, and both factors have serious implications on peace and security in Jammu and Kashmir

6. Archival Records including Correspondence With Various Governments, Civil Society and Advocacy Groups in the U.S., Europe, and India

A letter sent to the U.S. government officials in the National Security Council (NSC) and the State Department following interactions with Kashmiri Muslims in Geneva and a meeting with a senior Pakistani official in Washington, DC. The letter identifies key human rights and political issues on both sides of the divided Jammu and Kashmir, and proposes concurrent inter-comunity dialogue on both sides with specific goals to establish consensus positions for future negotiations with India and Pakistan.

The feedback from the U.S. government to the author’s proposal for a “Symmetrical Inter-constituent Dialogue” (as noted in the earlier article), resulted in an interesting exchange with a world famous peace and conflict resolution think tank called, “International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO)” based in Norway. The director of PRIO found author’s proposal for a political dialogue worthy of follow-up but indicated a need for budgetary support to initiate such a dialogue.

Presentation of two reports on status of Kashmiri Pandits still resident in the Valley to the Chief Minister, J&K – 8 January 2009Two inter-related reports on the welfare and needs of Kashmiri Pandits that continue to live in the valley – one written by the author following his trip to the valley in December 2006, and the other by Mr. Wajahat Habibullah, the present Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), Government of India, dated July 2008 – were presented to the new Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mr. Omar Abdullah, in the Hari Niwas, Srinagar, on January 8, 2009.

The Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2009 – Published 20 March 2009The new RTI Act was passed by the J&K Legislative Assembly on March 9, 2009, and a few days later was approved by the Legislative Council. The Act upon the consent of the Governor on March, 20, 2009 is now a state law.The RTI Act has five (5) Chapters. Chapter I, titled “Preliminary,” describes key definitions used in the Act. Chapter II, titled “Right to Information and Obligations of Public Authorities,” describes the kind of information made available under the Act, and the process that public must follow to gain access to information of interest. Chapter III, titled, “The State Information Commission,” describes the structure and make up of the State Information Commission (SIC) responsible for implementing the Act. Chapter IV, titled, “Powers and Functions of the Information Commission, Appeal and Penalties,” describes SIC’s authority in ensuring the law is followed openly and fairly, and the appeals process available to public for redressing grievances. Chapter V, titled, “Miscellaneous,” describes certain restrictions on accessing information involving national security, and describes monitoring and reporting requirements under the Act.The RTI Act consists of 32 pages. First 15 pages, consisting of Chapters I and II, can be accessed by clicking below. The full text of the Act is available on the J&K Government website.For Chapters I and II of the J&K RTI Act of 2009, click here

8. In Appreciation

Memories of an Ordinary Man Who Lived an Extraordinary Life – Published: 20 October 2005A remembrance of a man with humble beginnings whose vision far exceeded his geographically small world constrained by family traditions and Kashmir’s culture of sycophancy. The author recalls the life and times of his late father to an audience of young people in Kashmir.

Dad’s Recipe for Happy and Healthy Living – Published: 1 January 1999Author offers worldly advice to his children, embellishing on a “motto” that author’s grandfather handed to him during one of the family visits to Kashmir.

Hunza

Chrar-e-Sharief

Gulmarg in Winter

Chatti Padshah Gurudwara

Shankaracharya Temple

Shiv Temple located on the ancient Jyeshteshwar shrine built by King Sandhiman (2605 – 2540 B.C.), refurbished by Kings Jaluka in 200 B.C. and Gopaditya in the 4th Century. Named after the famous Hindu philosopher Adi Shankaracharya who visited the temple in early 9th Century A.D.

Terracotta from Harwan

The town of Harwan, located 18 kilometers from Srinagar, was a flourishing Buddhist sanctuary during the Kushan period (2nd to 4th Century). The name of the town is a contraction of “Shadarhadvana”, meaning “Grove of the Six Saints”. The great Buddhist Council that reconciled 18 different schools of Buddhism was held in Harwan. The terracotta tile was most probably produced during the reign of King Huvishk in the late 2nd Century, who also founded Huvishkapura near the current town of Baramula.